UK’s Consumer Rights Act of 2015 and Consumer Contracts Regulations empower buyers who have problems with the items they bought to return what they purchased to the merchant that sold them the goods. These two laws apply for products bought from stores, door-to-door sales, phone or mail order, and on the internet. If you are someone who wants to return a faulty product or a product that did not work as advertised by the merchant where you bought it, you must first understand what these two pieces of legislation mean so that you’re in a better position to get your money back.
What does the Consumer Contracts Regulations say?
The Consumer Contracts Regulations mostly governs purchase orders made online, through phone, through the mail, or through a verbal agreement. This set of rules allows you to cancel your order the moment after you made it. It also allows you to cancel the transaction within 14 days after you receive your goods. That means you can refuse to accept the product that you received by order if you deem it unacceptable. Even if you receive the items you ordered, however, you have 14 days from the day you accepted these goods to tell the retailer that you want to return the products they sent to you.
What does the Consumer Rights Act say?
Unlike the Consumer Contracts Regulations, the Consumer Rights Act has more comprehensive coverage. Aside from the return of goods and refund of the money you spent to buy those goods, this law entitles consumers like you to a free repair or replacement.
The law lists down the kinds of products that a buyer can return, repair, or replace for free. One group of these goods are items of poor quality such as rotten vegetables and expired products. Products you bought that do not fit the advertised or described purpose of the article are also included in this list. Supplements that claim to have medical benefits are among them as well.
If the product you purchased belongs to any of these two groups, this law says that you have the right to return the item to the store where you bought it from within thirty (30) days. This rule applies regardless of a store’s return or exchange policy. Just make sure not to lose a copy of the receipt as it is your proof of purchase when you make a claim for a product return, replacement, or repair.
Let’s say the item or equipment you bought was so bulky that you weren’t able to discover its defects within the first 30 days you possessed it, but you found the product defective or unsatisfactory within six months. The law says you have to give the merchant the chance to repair or replace the goods you bought. If you are still unsatisfied, that’s when you can ask them for a refund.
It will become more difficult to ask for a refund or free repair or replacement for more than six months after you bought a faulty product. The law shifts the burden of proof on you, and the problem is that it does not specify how you can prove that the product was faulty even before you bought it. The company can easily claim that you mishandled it within the several months you owned the item.
How about store returns or exchange policies?
Some merchants offer returns policy where customers can exchange or refund the money they spent on a defective product. These retailers print their policies on the receipt or publish them in posters or websites online. It’s important to note that they are not required by law to implement a return/exchange policy other than what the Consumer Rights Act already defined. However, the law says they are required to commit to those policies if they decide to come up with one. If you choose to make a refund or exchange claim under the store’s return/exchange policy, you have to do so within the time limit they defined in their policy.
If you’re looking for a company to help with your return, Consumer Reclaim is your best option. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help.